Design

Characteristics

The broadly conceived Design course offers combined as well as specific studies in the subjects of Woodwork/Product & Object Design, Fashion Design and Textile Art/Textile Design. In the tradition of the Schneeberg Faculty of Applied Art, students who want to become designers of unique specimens or serial products are trained to achieve a high level of design competence and an excellent technical qualification. It is typical of the studies offered in this course that the processes of designing and of realizing a product are closely linked. Following the basics of general art and design and of cultural studies and social sciences, students are streamed, according to individual choice and aptitude, either into the direction of applied arts or one that is design and production oriented. By covering the span from crafted unique specimen to industrial serial product, the course enables students to work competently either in the field of applied art or that of product design.

Well equipped computer pools and modern studios and workshops support the design process and the making and, once finished, presentation of the object or product. The cooperation with partners active in research, industry and crafts and especially the integrated practical semester to be spent in a company at home or abroad help students acquire the knowledge and expertise necessary for successfully entering professional life. A comprehension of entrepreneurial aspects is fostered by offering lectures in marketing, management and business law.

Presentations at fairs and exhibitions as well as entering competitions while studying convey experiences valuable for competing confidently in the labour market.

Students are enabled to work independently and creatively, and after completing their studies they will be fit to handle sophisticated design projects with a focus on task, deadline and purpose.

Subjects

Woodwork/Product & Object Design As part of applied art, woodwork lies between craft and art, design and free creation. The span stretches from children’s toys to architectural art and from sculpture to serial products. Experimental work with the material wood in studios owned by the university is one essential basis for finding creative solutions. The specific features of wood as material are in the centre of teaching.

Fashion Design Clothing – Fashion – the Art of Dress Design: The fashion designer’s function is to design and develop a broad spectrum of clothing products for the confection and knitwear industries. He must be able to combine creativity with technical production and material oriented considerations. The studies impart a complete basic knowledge of design with reference to model designing, creation of patterns and assembly, presentation and display techniques.

Textile Art Textile Design Textile art falls between free art and design. The education stresses individuality that aspires to create designs for use in the crafts and industry. Attention is given to the design of a unique specimen as much as to interdisciplinary processes and the development of designs for serial production. Traditional and free techniques, but also modern technologies are used in shaping forms.

The Elements of Artistic Design This study complex comprises the subjects Nature Studies, Design and Colour Theory, Typography, Photo Technology/Photography, Fundamentals of Computer-Assisted Design as well as Techniques of Graphic Reproduction and Figure & Nude Drawing. It teaches the student the fundamental principles of form and colour and the techniques of artistic design and representation.

Scientific and Theoretical Elements Scientific and Theoretical Elements are taught at the AKS faculty in the subjects History of Art and Design, Aesthetics, Perceptive Psychology and Economics in lectures, seminars and exercises. The purpose of studying Scientific and Theoretical Elements is education in all aspects as a humanist corrective.

Entry requirements

University entrance qualification (general higher education entrance qualification or an advanced technical college certificate or a school education recognized as the equivalent, or the passed entrance examination for obtaining the qualification to study) passed entrance examination as a rule a practical vocational activity (pre-study practical training) of 13 weeks duration or a certificate of graduation from a pertinent vocational training

Entrance examination

Application for an aptitude test on or before May 15th of the respective year

Proof of aptitude by

presentation of a portfolio with artistic design and practical works preliminary interviews with the selected candidates performance evaluation and decision as to the aptitude by a commission